Page 780 - Dancing Queen

Author Notes:

I was tired and sick at the time, but I'm actually pretty happy with how this page turned out.

So hey, we're coming up on the end of this arc, looks like! Should I open up for guest comics and try for another IDW-based intermission? I could actually probably survive powering through another arc before taking another break, so it's entirely optional.

I'll start thinking up another mini-arc. If beyond-season-2 screencaps are now fair game, that opens up some possibilities...or perhaps it's been long enough that I can reuse some that NS has used, to different purpose.

As to the puns, why all the buzz? Sometimes you've just got to wing it.

Modt of the obvious puns just use the word bee. But that's just how commenters work, we have a hivemind. I'll comb through my vocabulary to come up with something that has a bit more sting to it. I'll give you a buzz if I come up with some more.

Please don't go there. I am so tired of politics being slipped into everything. It's not edgy or clever, especially when everyone else is doing it, thinking they are edgy or clever. It's going to be a long enough time to election day as it is. Politics is important, be it doesn't have to be everywhere. There has to be some safe escape away from it.

Certainly any creator of a webcomic can choose to do that. But I will have to regretfully drop it if so. These days you have to assume your audience is about 50/50. Meaning any political reference for either side is entertaining half but pissing off the other half.

I believe that NS truly and sincerely did not mean to make a political reference with this comic.

Some truths are just true, and remain true no matter how much certain currently notorious politicians may choose to make a point of blatantly lying about certain issues. What Fluttershy said - after removing the bee/Breezie/pony specifics - was true years ago before the current election cycle, and will remain true years from now regardless of who occupies certain political offices.

Besides, the bees did not propose building a literal wall to cut themselves off, let alone making others pay for it.

Don't worry, I hate it when things get unnecessarily current and political as much as the next average lurker.

The intent wasn't political. The allegory (which is kind of a stretch) did cross my mind as I was finishing up this page, and I had a small debate as to whether or not I should maybe change it a bit so as not to glance off any touchy topics. In the end, I figured that, if what was happening now wasn't happening now, this would probably still be the best wording to illustrate Fluttershy's point. In my mind, the benefit of clarity by leaving it in outweighed the penalty of being an accidental vague allegory.

Another way to look at it is from the perspective of some archive binger a few years from now, who has forgotten about (perhaps repressed memory of) what was going on IRL at the time this strip was published. If it works from that perspective, then it works.

Personally, I think people tame politics too seriously these days. We hear a candidate making a fool of himself and then start making fools of ourselves. What happened to just laughing at stupid things, doing our own research on a the fandidates and supporring the one who best matches our goals? The gameshow we call poltics these days is so divisive and flawed that I'm concerned the current pres of the United States may BE the last president of the United States.

In a run through of keep on the shadowfell, I was playing a Wizard/spellsword, My friend, a home brew monk/ninja that only used jutsu from Naruto (and there was also a goblin DMPC paladin of Kai, long story). Pit trap opens. Goblin and ninja fall down, I use levitate. And kill 6 enemies in a round. Goblin climbs out takes out 2 more. Ninja rolls 8 climb, dc is 12 or something. I point out that he's a ninja. He should have some training in acrobatics. Facepalm moment.

In a campaign with superpowers (but not a superhero campaign...), My character had an odd combination of abilities that included an increase in size, strength, and durability relative to the amount of danger he perceived (subconsciously). It took throwing himself off a building (twice) without changing before the other players got in the habit of reminding me THAT HE COULD FLY (not very fast, which was why he never bothered)...

Yeah, but that won't solve the long term problem the Breezies have with neglect and ignorance that was stated before. Even if they did help it wouldn't fix the problem if it happens again. Also wasn't the shows message about tough love and sometimes the 'kind' thing to do is to be firm and make someone do their own job?

The bee's might be willing to help this one time, but if the Breezies continue to need the help of others to sustain themselves instead of coming up with better or more innovative ways to solve their own problems then nothing will change other then taking on the debt and troubles of the Breezies year after year until it reaches a point that will break the bee's.

Also as someone who keeps domesticated bee's this is a horrible argument that will get zero sympathy from bee's as they are one of the more Darwinian insects around. Their queens are chosen by most fit and most aggressive(some often eliminating the competition before it can even begin) and I could just make a list of bee facts but it would drag on. my advice? Difficulty roll of 35 at least.

UN-Bee-leviable, more cheap Trump cracks? And it's the only thing people Bumbling Beehind the bandwagon reuse over and over, and HIve know I might be a Buzz-kill here but someone should Bee-keeping notes because between all this political nonsense watching everyone try to slam someone on a policy that worked exceptionally well for Israel, seriously I Combed the web looking at the statistics and it is crazy how fast the misBeehaving stopped.

I know being the Bee on your scoop of ice-cream of bashing the annual democrat's scapegoat, but if you aren't for someone you Honeystly Beelieve in then who are you for, and it just Stings knowing that a good portion of the internet have chosen to interpret tightening security as Beetraying the interest's in America, but remember this brefore you Buzz-off.

Nobuzzdy had anything bad to say about Trump BeeFore the election started and the unfounded prejudice card has been played so much it's been beespoiled in the eye's of the public, so mayBee you should give the guy a chance?

I understand, I was just drawing it out from what would have otherwise been...

"well this is the 5th mention of the wall I heard today".

to make as many Bee puns as I could think of. Personally I'm pretty indifferent, when it comes to this election most people have already made up their minds and anyone just making unfounded prejudice accusations just wants to rant and would be happy with any target in my opinion.